In an editorial, Jersey City resident Dario Gutierrez questions if a municipal law championed by Ward E Councilman James Solomon, a mayoral candidate, will have unintended consequences for co-op and condo owners.

Screenshot via Instagram Reel.

If you own a condo or co-op in Jersey City, I’d like to ask you: Can you afford a $1,155 monthly hike in your maintenance fees?

In a September questionnaire, mayoral candidate James Solomon vowed to “require all buildings of significant size to complete mandatory emissions benchmarking by 2028” and to “implement phased emissions reduction requirements…by 2030.”

He notes that “Jersey City would be the first municipality to do so in the state.” He clarifies elsewhere in the questionnaire that “significant size” is buildings “over 25,000 square feet.” That’s roughly 25 apartments.

The intentions might be good, but similar rules in New York City have squeezed working-class residents.

Bloomberg reports: “At Queensview cooperative, residents in the 726-unit housing complex — about half of whom are retirees — fear that their roughly $1,000 maintenance fee will soon double to cover the cost of electrifying their heat and hot water systems over the next five years”…the report estimates the law would add $1,155 per month to the maintenance fees in the building.

Solomon’s proposal could be at least as expensive as NYC’s, maybe even more expensive: a blog post by Food and Water Action endorsing Solomon notes that he has committed to “nation-leading standards” on this front.

NYC is papering over these hikes by offering tax breaks to owners that are hit hard. Jersey City simply doesn’t have the budget for that.

Residents of older working-class co-op and condo buildings like Montgomery Towers and the pre-war condos near Lincoln Park will be the hardest hit.

At a time when electricity demand is surging and electric rates are skyrocketing in New Jersey, the electrification that would be mandated by Solomon’s proposal would also lead to higher heating costs.

This is part of a pattern the Ward E Councilman has taken during his time in office, of disregarding the costs of his policies on working-class people struggling with the cost of living.

I consider myself an environmentalist; I don’t own a car. I get around by bike, train, and on foot. I advocate to make biking and walking easier and safer every chance I can. Climate change is real.

But Jersey City already has some of the lowest carbon footprints in the nation.

The escalating cost of living caused by these misguided mandates will push residents out of Jersey City and into lower-cost suburban locales where carbon footprints are many times higher than in Jersey City.

Even by its stated goal, this law fails to reduce overall emissions by encouraging this sprawl and displacement.

Co-op and condo owners may want to consider this question in their vote in November.

Sincerely,

Dario Gutierrez
Jersey City resident